Improvement of thermal conductivity and wear property of Gr/EP composites with CNTs/Cu foam as 3-dimensional reinforcing skeleton

The graphite-reinforced epoxy resin composite (Gr/EP) is considered one of the promising solid lubricating materials. However, the low thermal conductivity and correlated poor wear resistance cause limitations to its tribological applications. With the expectation to improve the thermal conductivity and wear property, carbon nanotube (CNT)-reinforced copper foams (CNTs/Cuf) are introduced as 3-dimensional skeletons to reinforce Gr/EP composites. Herein, comprehensive testing was conducted to assess the wear resistance, thermal conductivity, microstructure, and wear morphology of the composites. The results revealed that incorporating Cu or CNTs/Cu foams into the Gr/EP matrix significantly enhanced thermal conductivity and wear resistance, with only minor elevation of the friction coefficients, which showed a consistent decline trend with increasing CNTs contents. Notably, with the CNT content of 0.159 wt%, the composites reached the favorable combination of a 25.4 % improvement in thermal conductivity and a 34 % reduction in wear rate compared to pure copper foam-reinforced Gr/EP composites.